Posted by John Byrne and Kristen Mack at 12:59 p.m.; last updated at 3:43 p.m.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and newly-confirmed Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy today said they’re putting a “marginal” amount of new police officers in downtown spots where they have been a spate of recent attacks, even as they questioned the media’s coverage of the attacks.

McCarthy cautioned the media about characterizing crimes correctly, pointing to the differences between shoplifting, robbery and criminal mischief.

And Emanuel asked whether the media pays more attention to crime downtown than it does to crime on the South Side, for example.

“Our job is to keep all communities safe, whether they’re in Englewood or downtown,” Emanuel said.

McCarthy also said police won’t racially profile, but will behaviorally profile. That means groups of five or more teens who are loud or taunting people, he said.

“We engage in behavioral profiling. It’s not about the way someone looks,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy addressed the steps the department is taking, including using undercover officers.

"There is a plan in place that we’re using. It involves patrol officers, it involved the gang unit and it involves detectives,” McCarthy said.

“We’ve enhanced that now by adding an undercover component to that. . . they will be our eyes and ears and be out there to identify large groups if they are in fact flowing into the city in anticipation of some of these events occurring.”

The comments came at a City Council meeting where aldermen confirmed McCarthy as police superintendent without dissent. The topic of the mob attacks did come up, however.

The city's top cop entered City Council chambers this afternoon, and Ald. Ray Suarez, 31st, immediately referenced the problems, even as he said he supports McCarthy's confirmation.

"We're having some problems in our downtown area. We have to immediately stop this, because it's giving our city a bad name," said Suarez, who added that he believes McCarthy is up to the task.

Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd, said he thinks social media has caused problems with youths outside the downtown as well.

"One of our colleagues just talked about the issues on Michigan Avenue, but we've had these in our neighborhoods," Fioretti said, looking toward McCarthy.

The aldermen urged McCarthy to work on ways to proactively deal with young people who use the internet to meet up and possibly cause trouble.

Chicago police have said they don't believe Saturday night attacks had anything to do with social media.

Reflecting comments by several aldermen, new Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 36th, said police officers in his Northwest Side ward are enthusiastic about McCarthy's appointment. "They're one hundred percent behind you," Sposato said.

Chicago's rank-and-file officers like McCarthy "because they know he's the type of law enforcement officer who has taken his cuffs off his belt," said Ald. Edward Burke, 14th.

The nomination of a new director of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications will head to the full City Council for consideration after a council committee gave him the OK during a quick meeting today.

June 06, 2011

A City Council committee cleared the way today for the city’s next transportation commissioner, who hails from Washington and promised to use his connections to help Chicago get more money for infrastructure upgrades.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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